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IMF downgrades forecast for Russian GDP contraction in 2016 to 1% from 0.6%

In 2017, the Russian economy will resume growth, the IMF said, as the country’s GDP will rise by 1%

WASHINGTON, January 19. /TASS/. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its forecast for contraction of Russia’s GDP in 2016 to 1% from 0.6% expected earlier, according to the updated World Economic Outlook published by the organization on Tuesday.

In 2017, the Russian economy will resume growth, the IMF said, as the country’s GDP will rise by 1%.

"Russia, which continues to adjust to low oil prices and Western sanctions, is expected to remain in recession in 2016. Other economies of the Commonwealth of Independent States are caught in the slipstream of Russia’s recession and geopolitical tensions, and in some cases affected by domestic structural weaknesses and low oil prices; they are projected to expand only modestly in 2016 but gather speed in 2017," the IMF reported.

Meanwhile, global growth has been downgraded by 0.2 percentage points to 3.4% for 2016, and by another 0.2 percentage points to 3.6% for 2017.

According to the IMF, "in advanced economies, a modest and uneven recovery is expected to continue, with a gradual further narrowing of output gaps."

"Risks to the global outlook remain tilted to the downside and relate to ongoing adjustments in the global economy: a generalized slowdown in emerging market economies, China’s rebalancing, lower commodity prices, and the gradual exit from extraordinarily accommodative monetary conditions in the United States. If these key challenges are not successfully managed, global growth could be derailed," the IMF reported.

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